Court surgery opens in Airdrie to help reduce backlog of cases caused by Covid-19
Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.A JUDGE-LED initiative in courts across the south of Scotland that has proved to be successful in reducing the backlog of summary court cases caused by the coronavirus pandemic has extended to Airdrie.Currently, many sheriff court cases scheduled for trial resolve by an agreed guilty plea between the prosecutor and the defence agent.However, this often takes place on the day that the trial is due to start, which means that witnesses attend unnecessarily and a slot in the court programme is used, preventing another case from proceeding to trial.Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar has now facilitated weekly court surgeries – including one in Airdrie – initially